Yggdrasil Symbol – History And Meaning

Yggdrasil symbol, also called the world tree, is a sacred European ash tree of Norse mythology and one of the most popular Viking symbols. It is where Odin had hung himself for 9 days while pierced by his own spear, a sacrifice made so the secrets of the runes would be revealed to him.

Read on to find more about the history and meaning of the Yggdrasil symbol.

Yggdrasil Symbol – History And Meaning

Yggdrasil painting by Jeroen Van Valkenburg

Yggdrasil History

Yggdrasil appears to have no origin. The Prose Edda tells about different beings living in and around the tree, which include Níðhöggr (a dragon), an unnamed eagle, and the stags called Dáinn, Dvalinn, Duneyrr and Duraþrór. 

The Prose Edda also describes Yggdrasil’s three roots extending across the Cosmos, but none about how it came to be.

In the poem Völuspá, which tells of the creation and destruction of the world, Yggdrasil also appears to simply exist.

In Völuspá 2, the völva (seeress) relates the story of the creation of the world, mentioning the “glorious measuring-tree in the earth below,” which probably means that Yggdrasil sprang from the ground as the world was created.

In the Norse creation myth, the first man and woman—Ask and Embla—originated from trees. They sprouted from Yggdrasil’s acorns.

That is to say, all human babies spring from Yggdrasil’s fruits, which are then collected by a couple of storks, who bring them to their mothers-to-be.

Yggdrasil is considered very holy as it is where the gods go daily for their governing assemblies. 

Its branches are said to extend far into the heavens, while the three roots that support Yggdrasil extend far away into other locations.

The Yggdrasil Symbol

Yggdrasil, the so-called world tree of Norse mythology and cosmology, represents the cycle of life, death, and rebirth. 

This enormous tree unified the 9 worlds of Asgard, Álfheimr, Niðavellir, Midgard, Jötunheimr, Vanaheimr, Niflheimr, Muspelheim and Hel.

The Norns, three old wise women who protect and guard Yggdrasil, are portrayed as Urd (past), Verdandi (present), and Skuld (future), they weave on a loom that represents time itself. 

The Völuspá describes Yggdrasil as a tree so tall that its crown reaches above the clouds.  It is perpetually green, but its heights are snow-capped like the highest mountains.

Today, many Scandinavian people still have miniature versions of Yggdrasils in their homes. These trees are often linden, ash, or elm planted in the center of their homesteads. They are called caring trees or guardian/warden trees, which are believed to have spirits and follow the lives of those who grow up under their branches.

Yggdrasil Symbol Meaning

Scholars generally consider Yggdrasil to mean ‘Odin’s horse.’ Ygg(r) is one of Odin’s many names, while drasill means ‘horse,’ although it also means ‘walker’ or ‘pioneer.’

This leads to an argument that Yggdrasil translates to ‘Odinwalker’ instead of ‘Odin’s horse.’

Other names scholars consider for Yggdrasil are Hoddmímis holt, Mímameiðr, and Læraðr.

One interpretation claims that Yggdrasils means the world tree upon which “the horse of the highest god is bound”—the highest god being Odin. 

In some parts of the Poetic Edda, however, Yggdrasil and Odin appear to be one and the same. When Odin was hung, speared, for nine days on this tree, he said that he sacrificed himself onto himself.